SOUTH FOX ISLAND -- On the tip of this windswept Lake Michigan island, amid tangled overgrowth and mountains of cobble pushed ashore by ferocious gales, stands a forgotten maritime monument in the midst of a makeover.

The beacon that warned ship captains of the treacherous South Fox Shoal in 1867 is long dim; the lighthouse now a shadow of its former self. Iron-grated windows, loose boards and graffiti on nearby buildings tell a story of better days long gone.

Its slow, steady deterioration might have continued were it not for a small group of dedicated volunteers, members of the Fox Island Lighthouse Association. The Northport-based nonprofit organization began making improvements to the site in 2006.

"I went ashore at South Fox in 2003, having just visited St. Helena Island, where there is an amazing lighthouse restoration, and said: 'If they can do that there, we can do it here,' " said Philip von Voigtlander, a FILA board member, avid sailor and project manager for the South Fox Island lighthouse.

"The most unique thing about it, in Lake Michigan, is its isolation. That's why (South Fox) is such a big light station. People had to live there. There was no place to go, no appreciable local community."

The light station, about 17 miles offshore, has seven structures, including its 132-foot light tower, which previously stood on Sapelo Island, Ga., from 1905 to 1933.

It was decommissioned and barged to South Fox Island in 1934 to replace the 60-foot-high tower there with something more visible.

The buildings, including the assistant lightkeeper's house, boat house, oil house, carpenter shop, fog signal building and well house, have been in need of repair. The station was abandoned by the U.S. Coast Guard in the late 1950s.

It was acquired by the Michigan Department of Natural Resources in the early 1970s from the U.S. Department of Interior. The 115-acre parcel was conveyed to Michigan's state parks program with the idea of providing residents with a unique park-like experience.

But the DNR's plans to create a Harbor of Refuge there for boaters never materialized. And so it sat.

State park officials say they have no plans for the lighthouse. It is a long way off-shore, and funding priorities have shifted. They are glad, however, for any help they can get to keep it from deteriorating further.

"We're just looking to try to preserve the history there," said Anna Sylvester, regional state parks supervisor in Roscommon. "There are seven structures, and that is unique for Michigan lighthouses. That the whole complex is intact is rare.

"This group has been wonderful, helping us preserve a relic that is a vital part of Michigan history."

FILA volunteers take it upon themselves to travel out to the island when weather permits, using their own boats or one owned by the organization. Work trips become multiple day commitments because of the distances and the uncertainty of weather, von Voigtlander said.

The group has cleared thickets, applied paint, replaced broken windows, shored up foundations and excavated truckloads of cobble from the inside of the boat house where the launch rails were buried by the inwash of stones. Group members recently reshingled the workshop roof with cedar.

Howard Meyerson | The Grand Rapids PressPhilip von Voigtlander, right, a member of the Fox Island Lighthouse Association, shows off restoration work at the lighthouse.

The group's long-term vision includes full restoration, possibly even a light-keeper's program on the island where visitors pay to come and stay for a week, living in the facilities and doing any work that is needed.

"It's a cool opportunity," said Sylvester, who manages four lighthouses, including Grand Traverse, Sturgeon Point and Tawas Point.

"Grand Traverse and Tawas Point have keepers. Keepers at Tawas Point pay $275 fee per person for a week and get to become the keepers of the property for a week, doing maintenance and giving historical tours."

Von Voigtlander said creating a safe harbor will be critical for that to happen. The pier washed away years ago. Any boats anchored there are vulnerable to the wind and waves. One volunteer lost his boat in August after it overturned at anchor during a storm.

"Becoming a harbor of refuge will be the biggest project," von Voigtlander said. "That will be critical in the long run if this is ever to become a tourist destination for lighthouse aficionados who are looking to score as many lighthouses as possible. This one is hard to get to."

FILA president John McKinney, a Traverse City resident, said the island's remoteness fostered neglect over the years, something he found attractive.

"The appeal of South Fox lighthouse is that no one was helping it, including the state of Michigan, its owner," McKinney said. "What drew me there is that it was pretty much abandoned and isolated. We could possibly be the only ones helping it."